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Unconvincing win for Gaels A STRONG second-half performance
from county champions Tir Chonaill Gaels quelled the challenge of a gutsy
Parnells side in a bitterly cold Greenford on Sunday afternoon.
The home side produced a below-par performance but a second-half rally
saw them outscore their opponents by six points to one, killing any hopes
of a shock result in the process.
Ultimately Parnells will lament a string of missed frees in the opening
half, which would have put daylight between the sides going into the interval.
It was the hosts who started the brighter and they built up a three-point
lead inside the opening five minutes, London star Darragh Kinneavy central
to all Tir Chonaill’s attacking moves.
It took Parnells 16 minutes to register their first score, David O’Sullivan
tapping over a close-range free to atone for some earlier misses from
the dead-ball. And with half-time approaching, half-back Richard O’Sullivan
bent over a fine long-range score from the right touchline to reduce the
deficit to the minimum.
In the first minute of injury-time, Parnells took the lead. Shane Monaghan
somehow found himself clean through with just McBrearty to beat and the
corner-forward calmly slotted the ball in bottom right corner. Richard
Dempsey quickly followed up Monaghan’s effort with a curling point
to give his side a 1-4 to 0-4 interval lead.
With 40 minutes on the clock Tir Chonaill Gaels upped a gear and hit an
unanswered five points in 10 minutes. Parnells rarely threatened, with
a spurned goal-chance from Dempsey their only attack of real note.
Morgan Flaherty fired over with four minutes remaining to reduce arrears
to just one point but a last-minute score from Kinneavy — who top
scored with four points — saw the champions grind out an unconvincing
victory.
Tir Chonaill Gaels: Brian McBrearty; Kevin McFadden, Stephen Boyle, Stephen
Carr; William O’Mahony, Peter Mooney, Niall Spain (0-1); Fergus
McMahon, Gavin McEvoy; Thomas Moriarty (0-1), Darragh Kinneavy (0-4, 1f),
Conor Burke; John Paul O’Donnell (0-1), Niall Quinn (0-2), Chris
Moroney (0-1).
Parnells: Evan Byrne; Stephen Mallon, Ciaran Kellegher, Crochan Murphy;
Richard O’Sullivan (0-1), Eanna Kavanagh, Damien Holland; Morgan
Flaherty (0-1), Ross Alcock; Richard Dempsey (0-1), Conor Brogan, David
O’Sullivan (0-1f); Colm Fuller (0-1), Mark Herlihy, Shane Monaghan
(1-0). |
